Farm owner Eric Frederick was starting his day mixing feed about 2:25 a.m. when he heard something and noticed a fire in the main barn, which held the dairy’s offices, bulk milk tank, compressor, water heater, washer and dryer, according to Randy Acker, chief of the Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Company.

With 911 alerted, farm workers began turning loose the 300 cows in the freestall barn closest to the milking barn, which was attached to the main barn, because the freestall barn was filling with smoke, while sparks were coming in the openings near the roof due to the wind, which was blowing 15 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 40.

The panicked, stampeding cows got onto the road, and the drivers of fire trucks arriving had to be careful not to hit them, Acker said.

Meanwhile, the main barn’s roof had collapsed, and the milking barn’s roof was starting to collapse, Acker said.

A fire early Saturday destroyed a pair of attached barns at the Frederick Dairy Farm in Martinsburg RD. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Firefighters focused first on “protecting the exposure” — the two freestall barns, with firefighters going inside to search for and extinguish small fires started by the sparks in the bedding on the floors.

Other farmers in the area who’d been alerted to the fire came with trailers and took the cows that had been evacuated from the first freestall barn to Pleasant View Farms, from which they were expected to be transported to the currently empty milking parlor of another farm whose owner was making it available to Frederick, so that he could continue with his dairy business, Acker said.

“That’s what farmers do out here,” Acker said.

The fire may have started in a utility room in the main barn, although it’s not clear why, Acker said.

The fire is not suspicious, and Frederick has insurance, Acker said.

In addition to the Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Company, companies from Roaring Spring, East Freedom, Duncansville, Williamsburg, Claysburg, Allegheny Township, Hollidaysburg, Southern Cove, Saxton and Six Mile Run were on scene at the Frederick Dairy Farm in Martinsburg RD. Photo courtesy of Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company Facebook page

Insurance investigators will be coming to the scene, Acker said.

The main barn was constructed of wood; the others were wood framed with steel siding, Acker said.

If Frederick hadn’t been up and working when he was, both the freestall barns and all the cows probably would have been destroyed, according to Acker.

Sixty or 70 firefighters were involved in the effort, Acker estimated.

In addition to the company from Martinsburg, companies from Roaring Spring, East Freedom, Duncansville, Williamsburg, Claysburg, Allegheny Township, Hollidaysburg, Southern Cove, Saxton and Six Mile Run were on scene, Acker said.

The company from Everett brought a truck and crew to stand by at Martinsburg’s station in case of another call.

Martinsburg, Hollidaysburg and Saxton brought ladder trucks, which firefighters used so they could send water down onto the barns.

Martinsburg called for extra tankers, which emptied their water into a pair of dump tanks, one at either end of the site.

The Martinsburg firefighters returned to their station about 9:30 a.m., packed up lines, got something to eat, then went back to check for hot spots, finally getting finished back at their station about 1:30 p.m.

Friday night into Saturday there were as many as 50 emergency calls for wind damage, including trees down, some into houses, some knocking down power lines, which touched off brush fires, according to an employee of the Blair County 911 Center.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.